Wednesday, February 28, 2018

In February of 2018, there were four Saturdays, and Tallahassee had a 5K on a USATF-certified course on each of those Saturdays. I already updated the rankings after the first half of the month, including performances from the Wolf Dash 5K (3 February 2018) and the Run For The Cookies 5K (10 February 2018). How did the rankings change after the second half of the month, following the Break-A-Leg 5K (17 February 2018) and the Trailblazer 5K (24 February 2018)?

There wasn't much change at all. On the men's side, the Break-A-Leg 5K produced only one top 25 performance, Kurt Dietrich's winning time of 18:34. However, Dietrich was already #6 on the men's 5K list with the 17:57 that he posted at the Run For The Cookies 5K. Likewise, Charlie Johnson, Chris O'Kelley, and Tristan Cravello all ran well at the Trailblazer 5K, with Johnson going 16:45, O'Kelley 17:11, and Cravello 17:39. But all three runners had gone faster earlier in the year. The men's top 25 didn't change during the last two weeks of February.

Katie Sherron and Adriana Piekarewicz

For the women, Katie Sherron went 18:55 at the Trailblazer, where Jillian Heddaeus ran 20:50, Brittney Barnes 21:12, and Alyssa Terry 21:13. None of those performances, though, improved on what each athlete had previously run during 2018, so there was no change in the women's top ten. However, Laura McDermott's 21:41 at the Trailblazer was her best mark of the year so far, bettering her previous best of 21:57 from four weeks earlier at the Tulip Trot 5K. McDermott moves from #17 to #14 on the list. Monica Toth's lowered her 2018 best to 22:15 but remains at #20.

Here's the short version. After 24 February 2018, Charlie Johnson still has Tallahassee's fastest men's road 5K time for the year, the 16:15 he ran at the Bowlegs 5K, and Adriana Piekarewicz still leads the women with her 17:59 performance at the Run For The Cookies 5K.

Charlie Johnson

There won't be quite as many opportunities to race 5K on a USATF-certified course in March, but there will be the 30th annual Shamrock Scurry 5K on 3 March 2018 and the fourth annual Habitat For Humanity 5K on 10 March 2018. April's 5K races on USATF-certified courses include the 43rd annual Springtime Road Race on 7 April 2018, the 44th annual Palace Saloon 5K on 21 April 2018, and the fifth annual Nene Fest 5K on 28 April 2018. After that, you may have to wait till the 36th annual Firecracker 5K on 4 July 2018, so you'd best get your racing flats laced up.

Here are the rankings:

Tallahassee's Top 5K Performances by Men on Certified Road Courses in 2018
(Through 24 February 2018)